Summer Workcamp

IDC organizes and hosts a variety of workcamps, events, and workshops. These activities are in line with our goal to promote sustainable development, intercultural awareness, international mobility, and ecological engagement. In 2016 IDC organized and hosted a summer workcamp on eco-building in the campsite. Take a look at the videos below! Click here to see the 2017 workcamp.

ECO-BUILDING SUMMER WORKCAMP

Dates

From 2 – 14 July 2016

Location

Camping Le Belvédère, Lastours, France

Host

Initiative et Développement Citoyen (IDC)

Participants

16 participants from all over the world guided by a trainer

The aim of this project was to learn how to create a round eco-building inspired the ideas of Evelyne Adam. The participants used natural materials such as lime, clay and hemp. There were 16 participants from Algeria, France, Moldova, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Serbia, Italy, and Spain. They were mainly young adults from varying backgrounds.

The participants provided support to Initiative et Développement Citoyen (IDC) in the Campsite Le Belvedere in Lastours, South-West of France, with a great view on the four castles of Lastours. In this workcamp they were able to build a beautiful, durable, long-lasting natural structure.

In the intensive workshop they explored a lot of aspects of green building. The plan was to build a construction made by a mixture of lime, hemp fibers and soil. The construction techniques is similar to “Kerterre” concept (mixture of components between the wooden
frames).

Hemp fibers are soaked in lime or soil and then placed carefully on top of each other to build the walls. To keep the alignment of the walls, hemp fibers were be placed between hemp ropes spaced 20 cm between each other.

During these 10 days the participants lived in community: sleeping, singing, dancing, eating, cooking and working together. It was a pleasure for the trainer, Elodie, to support and guide our participants in the development of this project.

They worked around 7 hours per day. The workcamp activity was not at all physically demanding, but they brought along some of their creativity and inspiration!

Our Organization

The Initative Developpement Citoyen (IDC) is a cooperative founded in April 2010 in Lastours, France with the aim to promote sustainable development, international mobility, active citizenship, mutual cooperation, ecological engagement, and awareness of different cultures.

The cooperative also organizes and hosts Erasmus-funded projects that aim to provide learning and capacity-building opportunities for the youth. The projects hosts volunteers from Europe, South America and Southeast Asia and focuses on topics related to knowledge exchange, communications, and sustainable development.